


Everyone: Wake Up

by GemmaRose



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Humanstuck, Multi, and everyone speaks at least once, including pairing tags, more tags will be added in later chapters, yes this includes literally every character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-17
Updated: 2014-04-17
Packaged: 2018-01-19 18:42:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1480033
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GemmaRose/pseuds/GemmaRose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written for a prompt on Homesmut (<a href="http://homesmut.dreamwidth.org/39716.html?thread=44761380#cmt44761380">here</a>): The Game ends, and it turns out the entire experience was just a big, immersive Virtual Reality game. The players now have to go back to lives they had forgotten, most of them in bodies which no longer feel right.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [FailureArtist](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FailureArtist/gifts).



Claire Gudricson **hated** her life right now. It was the 13th birthday of her second-best friend, she was going to a BITCHING party for that later, and her best friend’s dad was bringing home the game she’d been anticipating for YEARS. She should be ecstatic, but no, her stupid reproductive system had to go and ruin it for her.

“Claire, darling. Helen is here.” Her mom called from the living room.

She kicked the wall, which it took as an instruction to fold the bed up into the ancient dryboard-coated mess of circuits. The teenager groaned and banged her head against the drywall. “Tell her I gotta shower!” she yelled at the door, stalking over to her chest of drawers. Shedding her blood-stained nightgown into the laundry chute, she grabbed a black tank top and dark denim cargo shorts and scurried across the narrow hall.

Thankfully Helena was an early riser, so the bathroom was already empty and humid and, most importantly, **warm**. She stepped into the tub and slid the frosted-glass door shut behind her. The shower came on when she pressed the knob in, and she turned it to point at her wedge. Water streamed from the old-fashioned showerhead, exactly the right temperature, and she grabbed a “cranberry” hand towel from the bar on the inside of the door and slathered it with soap.

Once the dried blood had been scrubbed thoroughly from the insides of her thighs, she washed her hair and soaped herself down. When all the bubbles were down the drain she pulled the shower knob back out of the wall, shutting off the water, and reached out the door to grab a towel from above the toilet tank. A few minutes later she was dried, dressed, and chewing a toothpaste pill on her way to the living room. The absorbant strip in her underwear was thankfully non-invasive, and the pair folded in her back pocket were hardly noticable.

"You," she pointed at Helen, throwing a scowl over her shoulder as she moved across the kitchen to start the kettle. "Wake up entirely too early."

"You're just a lazy-head. Anyways, I didn't get up early."

Claire gave her best friend a disbelieving stare. "I swear to god, Hel, you're gonna get eye cancer or something you use your iVise so much."

She smiled and stretched, standing up and padding across the cheap carpet and cheaper linoleum. Claire noticed her friend's toenails were painted their usual shade of noxious yellow, but that the younger teen's fingernails were violently blue with a familiar insignia in cherry red. "Download another program for that dumb nail-bot?"

"Got Mitch to help me make it, actually." Helen replied, swiping the box of teabags and grabbing a mug from the top shelf.

"One, I never said you could have my tea you asshat. Two, don't take one from the top shelf, dad'll make me put it back!"

Helen stuck out her tongue. "Deal with it, shorty."

"Cram up your anal sphincter, beanpole."

Helen snorted. "You have the funniest cuss words, Claire."

"I try." she smiled, grabbing the kettle when it began to whistle. Despite her protestations she poured water into both their mugs, and grabbed a bowl to drop the tea bags in when they were done steeping.

"So." Helen grinned, pulling the shorter teen's hair back and producing a brush from the cushions. "What'd you end up getting Shauna?"

"Well, I was thinking a punch in the face would be good."

Helen rolled her eyes.

"But in the end I just swiped dad's credit card and hired one of those sing-o-grams. It's gonna show up at, 11 and belt out Happy Birthday. I told it to pretend it's tone deaf, too." Claire grinned wickedly. Helen cackled.

"Girls, don't forget-"

"Yeah, yeah, Shauna's place, noon. Aren't you running late?"

Mrs. Gudricson sighed and gave the girls on the couch a tired smile. "Just don't be late, ok honey?"

"Bye." Claire grinned, not bothering to disguise its fakeness.

The door shut, and she smiled at the girl who was her sister in all but blood. "Halo, or Mario?"

"Halo, duh." Helen grinned, pulling her visor out of the tote bag she carried everywhere. She'd had her brother hack it and installed a Retro skin, so the lens looked like it was one of those old-school two-toned 3D glasses. Claire, personally, liked the sticker collection she had going on the thick frames of her visor, but what they always agreed on was that it was better than Marvolo's hideous lime green set with purple spots.

\-----

A dozen teenagers and almost-teenagers lay in a circle on the floor of the Soun apartment, stuffed full of store-bought cake and cheap vanilla ice cream from little styrofoam cups. Their headsets were on the carpet in front of them, and the room was filled with a conversation which made almost no sense to its participants, let alone the birthday girl's older sister, who had gone to bed hours ago.

There was a knock on the door, and Elidia was there in under a second, hot pink mermaid nightgown hitched up around her knees. Her eyes went wide, and the rest of the circle bounded across the room to cluster around Mr. Civern in the doorway.

"Didja bring it? Didja bring it?" Shauna squealed, practically vibrating.

"Well, since it's now 12:01 you're not the birthday girl any more, so..."

"But it's **my** present!" she scowled. "Isn't it a law that nobody at the party gets to open presents until the hostess opens hers?"

"Ah, how could I forget?" he smiled warmly, reaching into the plastic bag and withdrawing a plastic box. "You'll have to pardon my transgression, Miss Soun."

She grabbed her present and beamed. "Transgression? I have seen no transgression. Carry on." she grinned wider and turned to shove her way back to the circle of iVises. Tyler and Dimitri got into a small squabble over who got the game next, but aside from that it went remarkably quickly. Helen went last and kissed her dad on the cheek, promising she'd come home for lunch tomorrow.

“Alright. Everybody have their characters all set up?” Shauna grinned, wiggling into her Ace Attorney sleeping bag.

“Cool your jets, dude. Mine's still installing!" Leon laughed, Lion King pillow tucked between his elbows and chin.

“Ready!” Tyler cheered, wrapped up in his Spider Man blanket.

“The graphics on this are awesome!” Christopher exclaimed, slipping his Dracula-themed iVise on.

“Meh, I still like Minecraft better.” Dimitri grumbled.

“Dude, I regret ever introducing you to that game.” Helen snorted, slipping on her own visor.

“I’m in.” Claire grinned, then snorted. “Is it too late to change my symbol?”

“I’m not glubbin waiting on you.” Elidia huffed, flicking down her Little Mermaid visor screen.

Jake yelped and pulled his visor off, nearly throwing it across the room. All chatter ceased as they turned to their friend, heads tilting in concern. Marvolo picked up the iVise and glanced at the screen, then started laughing.

“Tyler, you motherfucker. Nice prank.”

“Thank you.” the redhead preened, flicking an errant strand of hair over his shoulder. “It’s just a toy, Jake.”

“When you least expect it, I’m gonna run a lance through your character’s heart.” Jake glared, extricating the plastic spider from his Spanish flag iVise and slotting it back onto his face. “I’m online.”

“Yo, Jared.” Leon grinned, elbowing his best friend. “You gonna be okay playing on a cracked screen?”

“I best you at TF2 yesterday, didn’t I?” the dark athlete fired back carelessly.

“Yeah, how did you do that? Red Team has the advantage in that stage.”

“Blue team is stronger.” Jared smirked, shimmying deeper into his Spirit sleeping bag.

“Marv, Emi?” Shauna beamed in their general direction, pure red iVise screen making it impossible to see her eyes.

“I’m in.” Marvolo grinned, fingers already tapping on a keyboard only he could see, making his character do a goofy dance.

“Same. Ooh, look at my baby’s little whip!” Emi cooed, giving her Shaun The Sheep plushie a squeeze.

“Alright. You guys ready to go kick some Alternian butt?” Shauna grinned.

A countdown started in all their visors, lime green numbers spinning themselves into spirographs.

Claire snorted and rolled her eyes. “I think you mean Imp and Ogre butts, Shauna. We’re the Alternians, remember?”

“Right, right.” the black girl waved one hand dismissively. "But PvP is allowed, so we're gonna kick each other's butts anyways."

Fingers tapped idly on invisible keyboards, settling into gaming configurations and shooting off quick messages. The countdown hit 0, and twelve pairs of eyes widened.

Somebody swore, others lifted their hands towards their iVises, a few flinched. Twelve young teens and preteens collapsed, eyes shutting as their brand new games began to play, each visor viewing through the eyes of a different young alien.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so when I was writing out the stuff for _why_ the game glitched them into comas I forgot the part about no trolls, so they were already cast as humans and I didn’t want to scrap everything I had plotted out. The whole aliens thing is basically a mod on steroids. Mr. Civern worked on the game’s programming, so he was able to edit it for them. The cherubs are still a game fabrication, though. Beta Kids will be getting sucked in next chapter.
> 
> If you can't tell who somebody is, please tell me and I'll clarify for you.


	2. Chapter 2

Joan Dunlop beamed at the freshly unwrapped gift, bouncing to her feet to give her Nana a tight hug. “Thank you, thank you thankyou thankyouthankyou!” she chattered, words blurring together in her excitement.

Her father laughed and raised an eyebrow. “I thought you’d be disappointed. Didn’t you get that same thing for Christmas?”

“Well, yeah, but Jasmine doesn’t have it yet! Now I can give her a copy, and we can all play together!”

“Hoo hoo, I thought you would enjoy it.” her grandmother laughed, giving her younger granddaughter a kiss on the forehead. “Now, would you like more cake?”

“Nah, I’m full. Can I bring it home to share with my friends? Dia loves chocolate.”

“Of course you can, baby.” the old woman smiled. “Your father knows where I keep the plastiv wrap, don’t you dear?”

“Over the fridge, mom?” he smiled wryly.

“Precisely.”

\-----

Fifteen minutes later, Joan was in the passenger seat of her family’s sedan with her iVise on and her favourite chat client open.

girlyTrickster began pestering gardenGiant  
GT: JASMINE  
GT: JASMINE I KNOW YOU”RE ONLINE  
GT: JASMIIINE  
GT: JAZZY PAY ATTENTION TO ME  
GT: IT”T IMPORTANT  
GG: ohmygod Joan what  
GG: why are you holding shouting  
GG: holding shouting lol  
GG: why are you talking in all caps?  
GT: becaaasue  
GT: *because  
GG: //snork  
GT: because my Nana got me another copy of SBURB!  
GG: OHMYGOD WHAT  
GT: come to my place  
GT: I’m bringing leftover cake  
GG: you gotta give me at least half an hour to make my character  
GG: you guys have had six months  
GG: almost  
GT: sure  
GT: Imma message Dia next  
GT: see ya :)  
GG: see ya :B  
girlyTrickster ceased pestering gardenGiant

girlyTrickster began pestering techGoddess  
GT: DIA  
TG: wut  
GT: my house  
GT: one hour  
GT: I’ve got cake  
TG: chocolate?  
GT: with a whipped cream middle layer  
TG: consider me already there  
techGoddess ceased pestering girlyTrickster  
GT: bring your iVise  
GT: dammit

girlyTrickster began pestering theraputicTrainee  
GT: ROSALINE  
TT: Jasmine told me we will be playing SBURB later.  
TT: I presume you are supplying her with a copy?  
GT: damn  
GT: stop being so clever  
GT: I wanter to tell you myself  
GT: *wanted  
TT: I’ll bring my iVise over in an hour.  
GT: ask your mom if it’s okay for you to sleep over  
GT: we’ll make this my birthday party  
TT: I’ll see what I can do  
GT: see ya later Rosaline :)  
TT: My mother says I can be at your house from five tonight to ten tomorrow  
GT: awesome!  
GT: see ya in an hour :)  
girlyTrickster ceased pestering theraputicTrainee

girlyTrickster began pestering gardenGiant  
GT: bring stuff for a sleepover  
GT: this is gonna be my birthday party  
GG: why are you giving me a gift on your birthday, again?  
GT: because i wanna  
GT: bring your sleepover stuff  
GT: we’re gonna play dis bitch aaaall night  
GG: yes ma’am :B  
gardenGiant ceased pestering girlyTrickster

\-----

Joan practically bounded out of the car when it stopped in her driveway, iVise perched on her forehead and plastic-wrapped SBURB copy in one hand. “Hi Jazzy!” she squealed, wrapping her arms around the taller teen’s waist for a tight hug.

The muslim girl had hit her growth spurt at the start of the year, and now stood head and shoulders over the rest of their friend group. A bit more than that in comparison to Joan, but she scooped up the now-teen and returned the hug with plenty of force. “Thank you for letting me use your copy.” she beamed, setting her friend down.

“Not like I can use it.” Joan pointed out, bouncing on her feet. The door swung open easily, and she hopped into the front hall. “Come on, let’s go up to my room.”

“Shoes off first.” Mrs. Dunlop called from the living room. “I just finished vaccuming up there.”

“Yes mom.” Joan shouted back, flicking her loosely tied sneakers into the corner by the coat rack.

Jasmine stepped out of her sandals and left them by the wall, then the pair stampeded up to Joan’s bedroom. The door slammed behind them, and Joan threw herself onto her bed to pull her six month old copy out from underneath the pillows. “So, whatcha gonna name her?”

“What makes you so sure I’m making a girl?” Jasmine shot back, dropping her overnight bag and prayer mat before sitting down to rip open the plastic.

“Puh-lease. I saw you doodling on your math test. What’s your character’s name gonna be?”

“Jade.” the Indian girl smiled, slotting the game chip into her iVise’s shiny chrome frame. “Her name’s Jade Harley.”

\-----

Dia Steiger pressed the doorbell and shifted the overnight bag on her shoulder. On her left, Rosaline rocked back and forth on her feet. The door opened, and they both nodded at Janet. The older Dunlop girl had held her party the day before, drawing both of their older siblings over for cake and a day trip downtown.

“How was your Sweet Sixteen?” Rosaline asked, removing her shoes and placing them next to Jasmine’s

“It was great.” Janet chuckled, fixing her glasses. “I’m glad to have a weekend to recover, though. Walking around all day can be exhausting.”

Dia smiled and nodded politely. “My brother said it was one of the best parties he’s ever been to.”

“Oh, that’s sweet of him.” Janet chuckled. “Should I tell mom to set places for you?”

“Yes please.” Rosaline grinned angelically.

“If it’s not too much trouble.” Dia nodded.

“You know my mom always makes enough for leftovers, Dia.” Janet smiled fondly down at her sister’s best friend. “Joan and Jasmine are upstairs in her room.”

“Thank you.” the pair of blondes chorused, padding up to the second floor. Rosaline knocked on the door, carefully avoiding the hefty collection of stickers and bedazzle practices. It swung open, and Joan lifted her head to wave at them.

“Jasmine is doing her Magrib thing, she’ll be back in a bit.” Joan grinned, holding up her iVise. “Wanna play before dinner?”

“Are you kidding?” Dia grinned, pulling her own iVise out of her bag.

Rosaline raised an eyebrow. “A new skin already?”

“It’s the sheet music for Ride of the Valkyries. Limited edition.”

“No way.” Joan laughed. “Can you gift it to me? I love being able to sound pretentious.”

Dia chuckled and pulled a medium sized box out of her bag. “I thought you’d like this better.”

Joan’s face lit up, and she held her hands out. Dia crossed the room to hand it over, and Joan gave her a hug. “Thank you~” she sang, making quick work of the wrapping paper. The box inside was wood, and when she lifted the lid she found it empty. Frowning, she looked up at Dia. “Is this a trick?”

“It’s a jewelry box, goof ball.” Dia smiled. “Your old one is overflowing.”

Joan glanced at the Barbie jewlery box on her dresser and nodded. “Thank you, Dia. I love it.”

“I have a gift too, you know.” Rosaline smiled, holding out a knit purple bag with a black ribbon drawstring tied in a bow.

“Ooh, is this the famous Secret Sewing Project?”

“Indeed it is. Open it up.”

Joan untied it carefully, and extracted a patchwork teddy bear. Her face split in a grin, and she hugged it tight. “Mr. Fuzzy!” she squealed, pressing her face to its freshly embroidered ears.

“You were so upset when he got thrown out, I rescued him and patched him up.”

“Rosaline, thank you.” Joan beamed, hugging her half-albino friend tightly.

“Oh, you did not start the gift giving without me!”

The three on the bed turned to look at Jasmine, who was standing in the doorway. Joan smiled unabashedly and nodded at the lumpy shape inside her darkest friend’s overnight bag. “Rosaline only just finished giving me hers. C’mon, gimme.”

Jasmine rolled her eyes and retrieved her gift, lobbing it gently to Joan. The blue-eyed birl unwrapped it, and laughed. “You did not.”

“I worked hard on it!”

“You built me a nail bot, from scratch?”

“I frankensteined a few models together for the best features of each. It’s nothing you couldn’t have done.”

“You’re too modest, Jazzy. This is great!”

“It’s only got one programme on it so far, but-”

Joan flicked the power switch and held her hand under the tiny brushes. It whirred to life, and Jasmine raised an eyebrow. “Seriously?”

The bot finished in ten seconds, and she switched her hands to look at the newly painted one. “Oh that’s too cute!” shiny lime green letters spelled out SBURB on a matte black background, and when the bot chirped its completion she looked at her other hand. The SBURB house was painted on her thumbnail, and four God Tier symbols were done on her nails. Her own Breath, Dia’s Time, Rosaline’s Light, and on her pinkie nail Jasmine’s Space. She grinned and held both hands to her cheeks. “Somebody take a picture.” she grinned, opening her mouth in mock surprise as Dia’s iVise camera went off.

“Come on,” Dia laughed, settling her visor on her face. “Let’s log some play time before dinner.”

“I wanna be the first one in.”

“Gee, pushy much?” Jasmine grinned, pulling on her own camouflage iVise.

“I’m the birthday girl.” Joan said firmly. “I get to enter first in this session.”

“Whatever you say, my liege.” Rosaline said dryly, donning her knitting-skin iVise.

“If you call me that again before I get to God Tier, I may recind my thanks for your present.”

They all sniggered, and Joan finger-swiped over into her game window. “I’ve got up a private game. Name’s H A I G U Y S, password is April13.”

Three iVises pinged, and four young teenagers slumped forwards across Joan’s bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, all of the Betas are girls. This is going to cause some issues when they get out of the game. And yes, real-world Jade wears a hijab. Because I have many headcanons, and it is my story. Up next, Alphas and Dancestors! That'll be a fun dialogue. And as for why none of them brought a sleeping bag, Joan's bed is big enough for all of them to cram in together. And it's not like they're planning on sleeping much anyways.
> 
> Just gonna say, thank gog for the Homestuck work skin. formatting the Pesterlogs would have been hell otherwise.


End file.
